Home: A Novel by Rachel Smith Page B

were being really cool so I let her have a little space. It was nice to see her happy and relaxed. She even ventured to the concession stand with them to grab a soda. I got myself in a position where I could see her and everyone around her.
    “Dude, chill the fuck out,” my buddy, David, said to me as he leaned against the fence that separated us from the field. “Seriously, it’s not like she’s nine years old and you need to make sure no one steals her.”
    “Shut up, Lyons,” I snapped. “She’s a walking target. I’m just making sure people leave her alone. Maybe if you gave two shits about a girl they’d stick around longer than a week.”   T hat seemed to shut him up. David had a worse track record than I did with women. He was after the quick lay and then he was done. Since high school, I think he’d only introduced me to one chick. Not that I cared, but it was still strange that he always kept women at arm’s length. At least I had the excuse that my girl left town on graduation day. As far as I knew, Lyons had no excuse.
    Then there was my other buddy, Evan, who got married at age twenty only to have his wife tell him a year later that she didn’t love him after all. She left town the next day and that was it. He’s been actively trying to replace her ever since. Evan was a serial dater and fell in love with every girl he met, it was impossible for him to be alone.
    I looked back to the concession stand and saw Johnny   T rellis stroll up to her. Jesus, of all the people here, why him? I will never forget the party in high school where he had his hands all over her ass. I was so fucking pissed that night, I ended up getting in a fight with some dumbass freshman. I remember the whole thing like it was yesterday. I had gone outside to fill my beer cup when I heard the little shit talking about wanting to hook up with Lil. I turned around and punched him right across the jaw.   W e tumbled to the ground and it took a couple guys to pull me off him. Lil and I left after that and drove around back roads the rest of the night.
    Johnny said something to Lil and she threw her head back and laughed. He flashed her a smile and leaned in closer. Fuck no. I needed to shut this shit down, pronto.
    I jogged over to where they were standing and put my arm around Lil.
    “Hey baby, do you need help carrying anything?” I asked.
    “Um, no, I think I got it.”
    I gave Johnny a glare but he just looked at me with a smug smile. He knew what he was doing.
    “DeLuca,” he greeted me.
    “Trellis,” I nodded in reply.
    Time to wipe that smile off your face, dickwad.
    “Okay, honey,” I said as I kissed the top of her head. “Hurry back.” I gave her a playful swat on the ass and turned to walk away.
    There, Trellis, take that fucking hint. She’s mine, damn it.
    Lyons was standing there with a smirk on his face when I got back to the fence.
    “I don’t wanna fuckin’ hear it.”
    “Yeah. Sure.   W hatever. So when’s the wedding?” he joked.
    I shot him a glare to shut him the hell up. Lil was on her way back and   definitely   didn’t need to hear that shit. She would run straight out of this town and far away from me. Even though I hadn’t talked with her much all those years she was gone, I did follow her interviews. And I shamelessly admit to buying any magazine that had her on the cover.   W hile she mostly dodged the relationship questions all together, she was not hesitant to let it be known that she never wanted to get married or have a family. Maybe it was all just for show, but I didn’t need to find out by some jackass teasing me about it and having her run and hide.
    “What was that all about?” she asked as she walked up. “Here, I got you a Coke.” I took the cup from her and calmed myself down.
    “Nothing,” I lied. “You just make me nervous, and I’m not a big fan of Johnny   T rellis.” I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her middle. “I’m much better